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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: nail · file · land · bark · mug · arm · mate · ground

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mate — to breed
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ground — a position
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ground — the earth
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — a country
  19. mug — to rob
  20. file — a tool
  21. mug — a face
  22. land — ground
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com